Russia & Turkey: Trying to Revive Economic Cooperation

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin shake hands in front of reporters in St. Petersburg on August 9. Such a meeting would have been hard to imagine just a couple of months earlier. (Photo: Russian Presidential Press Service)

The renowned economist John Kenneth Galbraith once said that “politics is the art of choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable.” Such an outlook may have played a role in encouraging Turkey and Russia to set aside mutual animosity and try to get back to business.

In early August, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin shook hands in front of reporters in St. Petersburg. Such a meeting would have been hard to imagine just a couple of months earlier.

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Dmitry Sachkov is an expert on Eurasian affairs at The Risk Advisory Group, a global risk management consultancy that has offices in Washington DC, London, Moscow, Al Khobar, Dubai and Hong Kong.

Russia & Turkey: Trying to Revive Economic Cooperation

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin shake hands in front of reporters in St. Petersburg on August 9. Such a meeting would have been hard to imagine just a couple of months earlier. (Photo: Russian Presidential Press Service)